Electing Grasshoppers

I didn’t want to write about today’s election. So much has been written and said about it over the last few months, including many brilliant pieces I have read, what can I possibly add? And with the grim political picture facing us, do we really need my attempt to describe dark grey?

Yet the fact remains that today’s election is a significant event. Decisions are being made that will affect millions of people for many years to come. As kingdom-minded Christians, we resist the temptation to just ignore it all as a bunch of juvenile pettiness, even if much of it is. Instead, we care about the governing of our land and we seek to be involved in the process.

However, by the time most of you read this the election will pretty much be over except for the counting. That process often takes a while, so while you are watching hours of election coverage I have this reminder from God: We are electing grasshoppers. The Lord chides us if we forget this.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. (Isaiah 40:21–22)

Think about the last time you saw a grasshopper. Did you think to yourself, “I wonder if he (or she?) holds an important position in the caelifera community?” Of course not. You didn’t give it more than a passing thought because it’s just an insect. Compared to us, grasshoppers are tiny and powerless. And with a two-month lifespan they don’t last long.

He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. (Isaiah 40:23–24)

Today’s election is a big deal. We should care and take part. But we would be wise to remember the Sovereign Lord as we watch election returns. He who stretches out the heavens like a canopy is the One who determines who will rule and when their time will be up. Therefore, we will hope in the Lord and renew our strength.